The White House wants to teach you about online security

A new federal initiative wants to make sure people understand the steps they can take to increase their security online.

By

PriyaAnand

Coming soon to a neighborhood near you: cybersecurity tutorials, sponsored in part by the federal government.

The White House’s cybersecurity national action plan, released Tuesday as part of a $19 billion investment in bolstering online safety across the federal government, aims to empower Americans to boost their own security awareness through public education campaigns. It comes after embarrassing breaches of government agencies, such as that of the Office of Personnel Management, and the manipulation of an Internal Revenue Service’s own website by hackers.

The plan emphasizes two-factor authentication as the primary way people can protect themselves online. Two-factor authentication — or 2FA, as it’s often abbreviated — means that the website or application will add an extra step to the log-in process to check the identity of the user with more than just a password. For example, the user may receive a verification code to a phone through a text, email or call.

Two-factor authentication has become a widely accepted way to supplement passwords by making sure users have the devices associated with their accounts to further verify their identities. More than half of people (56%) say they are unfamiliar with two-factor authentication, according to a survey published in June by TeleSign, a company that provides two-factor mobile services.

Companies and the security industry have for years considered passwords to be a flimsy security measure and are attempting to eliminate them altogether. Amazon’s iPhone app allows for fingerprint identification, as do some mobile banking apps. Google is beta-testing a feature that allows users to log in by clicking a button on their Android phones, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

The White House said its plans would supplement the efforts of the nonprofit National Cyber Security Alliance, which works with the Department of Homeland Security and private companies to teach people how to use multi-factor authentication at local events.“You think that people have heard all this stuff and they know everything, but they really are hungry for this information,” says Michael Kaiser, executive director of the NCSA. “When you come to them at a local level and talk about it, they really appreciate it.”

The White House’s cybersecurity initiatives also include “accelerating” adoption of two-factor authentication within the government itself, creating the new position of federal chief information security officer to lead the government in modernizing and securing infrastructure and establishing a privacy council to “help ensure the implementation of more strategic and comprehensive federal privacy guidelines.”

The NCSA’s past events have drawn crowds of about 100 to 200 people, Kaiser says. Typically, federal or local officials from law enforcement or other agencies will demonstrate how to turn multi-factor authentication on for different websites or products, and discuss the importance of cybersecurity. Then in a panel Q&A, audience members can ask questions.

Kaiser says the group plans to host at least 15 events across the country this year, and will focus on multi-factor authentication. Eventually, he says, it may begin educating people on how to secure Internet of Things devices. “How do you maintain the security of your home camera that’s connected to the Internet, or dishwasher, or your car?,” he says.

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